Paul Dillon: engineer of Elect-a-Trifecta power play

POSTED 6 July 2023

Kicking off his campaign for Spokane City Council in May, Paul Dillon wrote a letter (click to see here) that begins with a vision for opportunities for everyone.  But, like Betsy Wilkerson’s similar letter …

Paul Dillon asks for up to $2,400 because,

“But I’ll be honest: We’re up against a well-funded conservative machine.  They know that if they flip this south-Spokane district, we’ll lose our progressive supermajority on Council.  So they’ll spend tens of thousands of dollars to lie about my record and our vision for Spokane.”

Whatever is driving Paul’s paranoia, it isn’t healthy, and it certainly does not “put people over politics.”

Also reminiscent of Betsy Wilkerson’s call for a political regime, Paul writes,

“If we can win this race and help Lisa Brown and Betsy Wilkerson win their races for Mayor and Council President too, we can create Spokane’s first-ever progressive trifecta.”     

This is the second letter from a Spokane candidate that is raising money for a “first-ever progressive trifecta.”  This has become unsettling. 

However, this is not the beginning, but the continuing of Paul Dillon’s winner-take-all approach to controlling Spokane politics.  Consider …

1. Fearing the democratic process and a vote of the People of Spokane, in 2021 Paul Dillon sued candidate Tyler LeMasters on a residency technicality, ensuring that his trifecta ally Betsy Wilkerson would not have an opponent.  Dillon is quoted as saying, “It’s really unfortunate that he’s trying to deceive voters in the district." 

In an ironic twist, earlier this year Paul Dillon was officially warned by the WA Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) that he had failed to provide required information about his residency.

2. Paul Dillon has been implicated in an ethics complaint involving Council Member Zack Zappone during his efforts to gerrymander Spokane’s council districts.  Spokane Superior Court documents include Dillon, Zappone and trifecta co-engineer Jim Dawson texting and celebrating Zappone’s “win” while insulting other citizens.

EDITOR’S NOTE:  As far as I can tell, Paul Dillon’s two fellow primary election candidates have gone to great lengths to avoid partisan politics – even interviewing with each major political party in some cases.  I may disagree with many of Paul’s political positions, but I can find respect for an activist that follows his convictions.  Unfortunately, it has become clear that Paul Dillon is not interested in checking his personal agenda at the door in service of all citizens.

Having just celebrated our great nation’s rejection of tyranny, so must we reject these troubling calls for a political “trifecta” whatever that means – let’s NOT find out!